Hello I am a very sporty 33 year old living in the cold northern climes of Shetland. Into music as ...
Hello I am a very sporty 33 year old living in the cold northern climes of Shetland. Into music as well as clubbing.Like the odd ale or two!
Member since:23.09.2004
Reviews:2
Do you want to go to somewhere just that little bit different? Somewhere off the beaten track of normal winter sun destinations? Somewhere where the majority of the population believe that WWF wrestling is for real!? Goa IS the place for you then. Ever since I stepped off the airstrip in Mumbai (Bombay) two years ago and took that eleven hour taxi ride down the NH19 (A name which still gives me sleepless nights) - and survived, to arrive in quite simply the most beautiful place I have ever had the fortune to witness. Goa - the ultimate destination.
I was only there for a month but it felt like 10 minutes. Living in the cold northern climes of Shetland has made me appreciate good weather and believe you me in the 30 days I was there I would be struggling to find three days when I actually saw a cloud. The weather was perfect, temperatures hovering around 30-35 degrees Celsius everyday. November to April are the best months to go in terms of climate and leaving Shetland on a cold, rainy November morning and arriving in the palm tree lined tropical paradise made me appreciate how lucky I was to be there.
Our first point of call was a small hotel in Baga in Northern Goa where the prices for a room with two beds was £2 per night or 150 rupees. Get to know your 70 times table when in India - very handy when trying to get a bargain. My first night in Goa was spent at a seafood restaurant drinking the quite delicious and infamous Honeybee Brandy. Perfect with coke or lemonade this was moonshine as it should be. A drink that makes your head drunk first before dripping down into the lower regions of your body to continue its journey. The food as you would expect is unforgettable, especially if you are into your seafood. I could honestly say as well that hand on heart that I could become a vegetarian in India. The spices that they mix with vegetables are simply out of this world and cheap too. A three course meal with drinks would maybe cost you £8. tops
As I was later to discover Baga and adjoining Calangute were regarded as a 'touristy' area, where stalls were lined up in any space available to catch any tourist making glances to their wares. Bartering was fantastic. I got ribbed by my friend (who goes to Goa every year for 4 months over Christmas) saying I got 'done' by a stall for paying over the barrell for shoes, shorts and a t-shirt. But I didn’t care, as far as I can see everybody gets 'done' a little bit, its all part of learning the price of things. In the end I had only paid about £6 over the normal bartered price, so no big deal.
If you want to leave the 'touristy' area then do so although you can rent a hotel bedroom with shower, TV etc for about £25 per week. If you go head south on a beautiful bike ride to Morjim beach. Although taxis are very cheap, hire out a bike for about £2 a day and go and explore the sun drenched coastline of Goa. The beaches as you would expect are perfect, lined with palm trees and more importantly no litter. You can walk for miles and just see the odd beach hut or a boat. I stayed in a tree hut for four days and it was magical, just the noise of the waves crashing onto the shore during the day or the noise of crickets at night were enough to make you feel so relaxed and at peace yourself.
I fully recommend Goa as an ultimate destination in terms of weather, cultural diversity, food and most religion. Any savvy traveller will tell you that Goa is like a training ground for the rest of India, and if that is the case I cant wait to travel to the rest of India
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